Recreative apparatus of the switchback or like type.



A. W. LAVARAGK & H. GREENWOOD. REGREATIVE APPARATUS OF THE SWITGHBAGK 0RLIKE TYPE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 2, 1910.

Patented Nov. 21, 1911 2 SHEETSSHEBT 1.

A. W. LAVARAGK & H. GREENWOOD. 'RBOREATIVE APPARATUS OF THE SWITCHBAGKOR LIKE TYPE. APPLIGATION FILED APR. 2, 1910.

1,009,076. Patented Nov. 21, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

III

UNITED STATES PATENT onnron.

ARTHUR WHITLEY LAVARACK, OF HAMPSTEAD, AND HERBERT GREENWOOD, OF ACTONVALE, LONDON, ENGLAND.

RECREATIVE APPARATUS OF THE SWITCHBACK OR LIKE TYPE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 21, 1911.

Application filed April 2, 1910. Serial No. 553,123.

I '0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that/we, ARTHUR VVHITLEY LAvARAoK, a subject of the King ofEngland,

residing at Hampstead, London, and HER' BERT-GREENWOOD, a subject of theKing of England, residing at Acton Vale,.London, England, have inventedcertain newand useful Improvements in Recreative Apparatus of theSwitchback or Like Type, of which the following is a specification.

This invention is for improvements in or relating to recreativeapparatus of the Switchback or like type.

Figure 1 illustrates in elevation and partial section a portion of arecreative apparatus constructed in accordance with the presentinvention; Fig. 2 is a perspective view partially broken away of aportion of the apparatus forming a continuation of that part illustratedin Fig. 1.

According to this invention there is provided in the path of a vehicle avertical descent down which the vehicle is allowed to drop,

A feature of this invention is that there is combined with the vehiclea. separate body, such as for example a boat, which 7 leaves the vehiclein the course of its journey.

Another feature of this invention is that a portion of the chute is madedark and a mirror is placed on each side of the track at an angle to thetrack so as to give a reflection of the boat or other body as it passesthe point where the darkened portion of the chute terminates. Thisreflection will convey to the occupants of the vehicle an impression ofincreased speed, also that a collision is imminent.

A further feature of this invention is the employment of one or morelights or clusters of lights that travel in an opposite direction to thecage and by their relative velocity give the occupants of the cage animpression of increased speed.

Still a further feature of this'invention is that the passage of thevehicle down the chute is utilized to operate means whereby theillumination of the water into which the vehicle-passes is controlled.

, Other features of this invention will be evident from the followingdescription taken in conjunction with. the accompanying drawing whichillustrates a perspective view of one method of carrying this inventioninto effect.

A tower or similar structure A has running around it a spiral track Bhaving rails B laid thereon to enable a wheeled vehicle to travelthereon. A chain B is arranged to travel up the track and has dogs Battached thereto to engage with a part of the vehicle and haul it up bythe track. The chain B may be driven in a variety of ways, such forexample as by an electric motor, but as this does not form part of thepresent invention further description is unnecessary. A rack B isprovided on the track and a sprag C is attached to the vehicle and 'isso placed that should the vehicle begin to travel backward the spragwill engage with the rack and bring the vehicle to a standstill. Thevehicle consists of an underframe 0 provided with wheels C Upon thisunderframe a boat C rests which is adapted to receive a number ofpassengers. the underframe for a purpose that will be hereinafterdescribed. A cage D travels up and down within the tower A and normallyrests in a position ready to receive the underframe C with its boat Cfrom the top of the spiral railway. This cage is overbalanced by meansof a weight D This weight is attached to the cage D by ropes or chains Dpassing over pulleys D At tachedto the chains or ropes D are one or morebunches of lights D which travel in the opposite direction to that ofthe cage and give to the passengers the impression that they aretraveling at a higher rate of speed than is actually the case. The cageD is provided with a tilting bottom D to which is fixed an arm D havinga roller D" that travels up and down a curved guiderail A fixed to theinside of the tower. Arms A project from the tower in such a manner asto allow the underframe to pass them freely but to engage the rearportion of the boat and tip it forward onto a chute F. This chute isprovided with rails F to guide the boat on its downward course. The cageis provided with a catch or catches (not shown) that are hand releasedas soon as the vehicle is safely within the cage.

Means are provided to arrest the descent The boat C projects beyondofthe cage and such may consist of a convenient form of dashpot. Thisdashpot consists of a cylinder E filled with oil or other suitableliquid resting upon which is the balance weight 13*. A second cylinder Ehas operating within it a ram E and these two cylinders E and E areconnected together by a pipe in which a valve G is situated. This valveis operated by means of a lever G having a weight G attached at one endthereof and pivoted at the other end is a rod G which is passed throughguide blocks Gr attached to the cylinder E A cross piece E attached tothe rod is engaged by a projecting arm E fixed to the ram E and as thelatter descends the oil or other liquid is forced from one cylinder tothe other. The valve G is gradually closed as the arm E presses upon thecross piece E thus increasing the resistance to the downward passage ofthe ram E whereby the descent of the cage is gradually arrested. Afterthe load has left the cage D, the latter begins to ascend under theinfluence of its overbalance weight D At the same time the weight forcesthe liquid through the partly closed valve G and returns the ram E toits initial posit-ion.

A second cage H supported by a rope or chain H passing over a pulley Hand having an over-balance weight H at the end thereof, is provided withinclined rails 11 hinged at H and adapted to receive the underframe C.Below this cage rails or beams I are inclined in an opposite directionto the normal position of the rails H and these rails I tilt the railsH" when the latter come in contact with the former. The result of thisis to give a forward movement to the underframe C which travels down tothe bottom of the chute J, rails being provided on the chute for thispurpose.

The upper portion F of the chute F is made dark by means of coverings,at the end of which mirrors K are placed for the purpose of simulating acollision and giving the impression of increased speed.

At a convenient spot on the chute a device is arranged that efl'ects theillumination by electric lamps of the water or other surroundingobjects, when the vehicle passes down the chute. Such a device mayconsist of a spring plate L fixed to one of the rails F by screws Lhaving a contact pin L adapted to pass without touching through a holedrilled in the rail and make connection with a second plate L fixedunderneath the rail, but insulated therefrom.

The cycle of operations is as follows The boat C receives a load ofpassengers, it is then passed on to the underframe C at the bottom ofthe spiral railway up which it is conveyed by means of a moving chain 13carrying a dog B which engages with some part of the underframe. Shouldthe dog give way backward movement will be prevented by means of thesprag attached to the underframe engaging with the rack B At the top ofthe spiral railway the underframe C with its boat C passes into the cageD which is waiting ready to receive it. lVhen it is safely inside, thecage is released by means of the catch or catches hand operated andowing to the extra weight within the cage the latter drops verticallyuntil the bottom of the cage comes into contact with the head of the ramE when its movement is gradually arrested. Just before the cage reachesthe bottom of its travel the rear of the boat C is engaged by the arms Awhich thus lift the boat from the underframe C and hold it still whilethe front of the boat still descends until it is on a level with thechute F when it leaves the underframe and travels down the chute. At thesame time the bottom of the cage is tilted backward owing to the rollerD pivoted to the arm D traversing the bent portion of the rail A Thisresults in the underframe running backward into the cage H waiting readyto receive it. This cage now descends owing to the weight of theunderframe C over-balancing the weight H As the inclined rails H engagethe oppositely inclined rails I the underframe is gradually lifted to ahorizontal position then to a posit-ion sloping in a reverse directionto that at which it originally rested with the result that theunderframe runs down the chute J, into a position ready to receive thenext boat for a fresh ascent.

Suitable connect-ions are run from the two plates L and L to electriclamps beneath and around the water and the passage of the vehicle overthese plates will close the circuit and the electric lamps will lightup. Obviously more than one such device can be used to permit of theillumination lasting a longer time than would be the case with only onedevice.

Any well known form of catch may be used to release the cage D at thetop of the spiral railway at the moment when the vehicle has entered it.Such devices are well known and need not be described here. Instead ofthe ram and its cylinder a spring and recoil device such as is used inheavy artillery may be employed to arrest the cage, or a cylinder couldbe provided having a number of openings at suitable distances soarranged that as the ram travels up and down these holes would beuncovered or covered up successively, allowing the fluid to pass inlarger or smaller quantities, thus more or less wire drawing the fluidleaving the cylinder thereby checking the ram in its descent.

It is within the scope of this invention to use other means than thatshown for closing the valve G, for instance, a rod might be attached tothe cage itself and operate the valve through toothed gearing, thusobviatirg the necessity of using a weight such as Obviously it is withinthe scope of this invention to employ a vehicle that is not providedwith a separate body such vehicle leaving the cage and descending thechute in the well-known manner. This arrangement would obviate thenecessity of providing a second cage and chute.

What we claim as our invention and desire to secure by Letters Patentis 1. In a recreative apparatus of the char acter described, thecombination of an inclined chute, a car comprising a truck and a bodyseparable from the truck, means for raising the car to a greaterelevation than the upper end of the chute, a vertically movable supportadapted to receivethe car at such elevation and descend withit to theupper end of the chute, and means for automatically detaching the bodyfrom the car truck when the said body is in position to move down thechute.

2. In recreative apparatus of the character described, the combinationof an elevator shaft, a chute communicating at its upper end with saidshaft, an inclined track communicating with the shaft at a point abovethe upper end of the chute, a car comprising a truck adapted to travelon said track and a separable body, a cage mounted to move up and downthe shaft and adapted to receive the car from said track, and means forautomatically moving the car body from its truck when the cage hasdescended sufficiently to bring said body in alinement with the upperend of the chute.

3. In recreative apparatus of the character described, the combinationof an elevator shaft, a chute communicating at its upper end with saidshaft, an inclined track communicating with the shaft at a point abovethe upper end of the chute, a car comprising a truck adapted to travelon said track and a separable body, a cage adapted to support the carwhile moving in the shaft between the track and chute, means acting tomaintain the cage at the upper limit of its travel, and means forautomatically detaching the car body from its truck and delivering it onto the chute as the cage passes below the upper end of the chute.

4. In recreative apparatus of the character described, the combinationof an elevator shaft, a chute communicating at its upper end with saidshaft, an inclined track communicating with the shaft at a point abovethe upper end of the chute, a car comprising a truck adapted to travelon said track and a separable body, a cage movable in the shaft frombelow the upper end of the chute to a position in alinement with theupper end of the track, means for automatically detaching the car bodyfrom its truck as the cage passes below the upper end of the chute, andmeans for subsequently automatically moving the truck from the cage.

5. In recreative apparatus of the character described, the combinationof an elevator shaft, a chute communicating at its upper end with saidshaft, an inclined track communicating with the shaft at a point abovethe upper end of the chute, a car comprisinga truck adapted to travel onsaid track and a separable body, a cage movable in the shaft from aposition where it can receive a car from the track to a point below theupper end of the chute, means for automatically detaching the car bodyfrom its truck and causing it to move on to the chute, means forautomatically removing the truck from the cage after the car body hasbeen separated therefrom, a second cage adapted to receive the truck,and a return track adapted to receive said truck from the second cage.

6. In recreative apparatus of the character described, the combinationof an elevator shaft, a chute communicating at its upper end with saidshaft, an inclined track communicating with the shaft at a point abovethe upper end of the chute, a car comprising a truck adapted to travelon said track and a separable body, a cage movable in the shaft betweenthe ends of the track and chute, means acting to maintain the cage atthe upper limit of its travel, means for checking the downward movementof the cage, means for automatically'detaching the car body from itstruck and delivering it into the upper end of the chute, a return trackfor the truck, and means for automatically transferring the truck fromthe cage to said return track after the body has been detached.

7. In recreative apparatus of the character described, the combinationof an elevator shaft, a chute communicating at its upper end with saidshaft, an inclined track communicating with the shaft at a point abovethe upper end of the chute, a car comprising a truck adapted to travelon said track and a separable body, a cage movable in the shaft betweenthe ends of the track and chute, illuminating means connected with thecage to travel in a direction opposite thereto, and means forautomatically withdrawing the car from the cage.

8. In recreative apparatus of the character described, the combinationof an inclined track, an inclined chute, a shaft com1nunieating with theupper end of the track and extending past and communicating with theupper end of the chute, a car comprising a truck adapted to travel onsaid track and a separable body adapted to travel on the chute, a cagemovable in the shaft and adapted to receive the car from the track, andmeans for automatically detaching the car body from its truck anddelivering it on to the chute.

9. In recreative apparatus of the character described, the combinationwith a car, of

- an inclined way over which the car is adapted to travel comprising twosections, the adjacent ends of which are at different elevations, avertically movable cage supported independently of the track and adaptedto transfer the car from the upper to the lower of said sections, and adash pot adapted to control the downward movement of said cage.

10. In recreative apparatus of the oharacter' described, the combinationwith a movable car, a guide-way therefor comprising two sections, theadjacent ends of which are at difierent elevations, and a cage adaptedto transfer the car from the upper to the 'lower of said sections, of adash pot com- In testimony whereof we have signed ournames to thisspecification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ARTHUR WHITLEY LAVARAOK. HERBERT GREENWOOD.

\Vitnesses as to A. W. Lavarack:

R. LESLIE MOORE, J. C. PEVERITT. Witnesses as to Herbert Greenwood HARRYB. BRIDGE, PERcY HEWITT.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

